Tigers' tenacious D will test Tech

Published: Wednesday, January 13, 2010

COURTNEY LINEHAN

Missouri's game plan against Texas Tech will seem simple: force turnovers. But coach Mike Anderson said his team's ability to strip the ball is more a product of its defense than an intentional effort against its opponents.

"We want to be a team that, No. 1, is not predictable, and I think that's the great thing about it," Anderson said. "We're different than everybody, and so far that's been good for us."

The Tigers arrive in Lubbock on the verge of their best season during Anderson's coaching tenure. They'll face Tech at 8 p.m. today, and if they win could have their first 2-0 Big 12 start since 2005-06 and could equal the best start with Anderson as coach.

But Tech remembers all too well how Mizzou plays. The Tigers won 97-86 when the teams met in Columbia last season, then knocked the Raiders out of the Big 12 tournament with an 81-60 second-round win.

Tech committed 29 turnovers in the tournament game. Point guard John Roberson attributes it to Missouri's pressure defense.

"They're going to set a tempo with their press, so it's hard not to get set up because they're always trapping you," Roberson said. "You have to take chances to score the ball because when they pressure you."

Missouri currently leads the Big 12 in steals with 12.9 per game, more than three per game more than Kansas, which is second. The Tigers also have the best turnover margin; Missouri commits 14.1 turnovers per game while its opponents commit 22.

Tiger players are second, third and fourth on the Big 12 steals lists this season.

But Tech has a plan.

"Just don't let them speed you up, take your time," Roberson said. "If you do get in trouble, just call a time out. It's just thinking. You know it's coming; it's going to be tough, but we've just got to follow our game plan."

Roberson leads the Big 12 with 5.5 assists per game, a stat that generally indicates he has the ball in his hands more than any other player and therefore has the most opportunity to commit turnovers. He clearly remembers Missouri's full-court press.

Anderson said the mix of defenses helps keep opponents guessing, but the Tigers always execute their trademark traps.

"I think it's just that we try to make people uncomfortable with our defense," Anderson said. "The ball pressure, the traps that occur, we mix and match our defense."

Roberson hopes Tech got a taste of that in its 81-52 loss at Oklahoma State on Saturday. The Raiders turned the ball over 21 times that night, more than in any other game this season.

While the Cowboys and Tigers don't play quite the same style of defense, they do share a defensive intensity the Raiders did not encounter during non-conference play.

"It's a lot of athletes, lot of people holding you, scratching you, and the refs are not going to call everything," Roberson said. "We got a good taste of what to expect.

"They pressured us too, Oklahoma State, but not for the whole game, so I think we have a good idea."